


Life is the Journey

by Matthew Weeks (WanderingBard)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Poetry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2005-06-01
Updated: 2008-02-23
Packaged: 2018-08-16 10:25:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8098555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WanderingBard/pseuds/Matthew%20Weeks
Summary: These are the poems that simply popped into my head. The ones written for class assignments that I still enjoy looking back on as part of how I developed as a writer. I could have honestly put all of my poems in this collective and been happy, but I had reasons for wanting to set some of the others apart.1. "The Violin" (written 2004)2. "Dream Vacation" (written 2004)3. "The Masquerade Ball" (written 2005)4. "River Song" (written 2006)5. "Center Stage I"  (Written 2006)6. "Randomness"  (Written 2007)7. "Center Stage II" (Written May 2007)8. "Laugh, Love, Live, and Learn" (Written June 2007)9. "Narnian Dreams" (Written 2008)





	1. The Violin

As calm as a breeze,  
As fast as a train,  
As beautiful as the moon,  
I play the violin.

The music creeps like vines  
Going throughout the house.  
As loud as the rain.  
As quiet as a mouse.

I pull the bow across the strings,  
To play a simple tune.  
As happy as a summer's day,  
As dark as winter's gloom.

The notes climb up and down the staff,  
Slinking like a snake.  
Climbing high as a bird,  
Dropping deep as a lake.

The song may stop,  
But the music won't end.  
I just start another song,  
And keep playing my violin.


	2. Dream Vacation

Excitement waited for my family and me,  
On our Florida trip to Disney.  
On our way, through clouds we flew,  
A vacation with so much to see.

Everything, for us, was new,  
And more fun than I ever knew.  
We went to all four of the parks,  
Our adventure is one I'll tell to you.

Animal Kingdom started our tour,  
3-D Bugs Life, funny for sure,  
Rhino blocked safari trail,  
Lion King stage show, a tremendous roar.

MGM Studios was our rainiest stop,  
On a Star Wars space shuttle we did hop.  
Fantasmic light show was a blast,  
Met Stitch touring the animation shop.

I regret the Rockin' Coaster ride,  
The embarrassment I tried to hide,  
My mother and sister thought it funny,  
The queasy feeling I got inside.

Magic Kingdom, character chasing,  
Dumbo, tea cups, Grand Prix racing,  
Haunted Mansion, a spooking thrill,  
Hunny Pot ride with Tigger bouncing.

Thunder Mountain, biggest thrill yet,  
Riding Splash Mountain got us wet.  
Snow White ride, Peter Pan's Flight,  
How much more fun can this get?

Space Ranger Spin was a blast.  
The Jungle Cruise ride wasn't the last.  
Caribbean Pirates still to come.  
This day sure went by fast.

Epcot opened up new doors,  
Spaceship Earth, Body Wars.  
Met Figment in Imagination,  
Test Track thrills and Dinosaurs.

World Showcase, the window,  
To places we may never go.  
Tapestry of Dreams parade,  
Illuminations fireworks show.

A dream vacation comes and goes.  
Our trip has now come to a close.  
Thoughts of home come into view.  
A new dream for the future grows.


	3. The Masquerade Ball

Come to the masquerade ball,  
Where no one knows your face.  
You're free to act as you wish,  
For judgments aren't passed in this place.

Come to the masquerade ball,  
Where nothing matters at all.  
Since nobody knows who you are,  
Your status will not take a fall.

Come to the masquerade ball,  
Where appearances deceive the eyes.  
Your looks are unimportant,  
For everyone wears a disguise.

Come to the masquerade ball,  
Where what matters is on the inside.  
You're free to be yourself,  
While behind the mask you hide.

If life were a masquerade ball,  
How much easier it would be.  
Freedom from society's views,  
Peer pressure, popularity…

Life isn't a masquerade ball,  
Though it could be if everyone tried.  
Just remember appearances are shells,  
And what matters is on the inside.


	4. River Song

Our time together  
Has come to a close.  
Will we meet again?  
The answer no one knows.  
We've had our time  
And now we must part.  
So, I give you this message  
That comes from my heart.  
Life is like a river  
Stretching into the unknown.  
We cannot see what lies ahead  
Only where we've gone.  
Time is the river's current  
Pushing onward ever more.  
Into the distant future  
And whatever lies in store.  
Looking upstream, into the past,  
At what we've left behind,  
We see all of the memories  
That echo in our minds.  
Like sparkling gems we treasure them  
These fragments of the past.  
Though time goes on, through memories,  
These moments always last.  
Yes my friend, this is the end,  
Our paths have come to part.  
May our time be yet another gem  
You treasure in your heart.


	5. Center Stage I

Center stage  
The wardrobe stands  
To take you to  
Another land.

Center stage  
The long, white stairs  
Which we descend  
To take you there.

Center stage  
The curtains part.  
Now's the time  
For the show to start.

Center stage  
A story is told,  
With evil villains  
And heroes bold.

Center stage  
We take our bow,  
The show and the magic  
Ending now.

Center stage  
Now empty and bare;  
Only memories  
Remaining there.

Center stage  
We'll return some day  
To act out  
Another play.


	6. Randomness

The empty page.  
An empty mind.  
Searching for words  
That I cannot find.

Wanting to write.  
Nothing to say.  
It doesn't matter,  
No time anyway.

Thoughts travel in circles.  
I'm losing my head.  
I'm wide-awake  
When I should be in bed.

Can't finish the start  
That I cannot begin  
Because I'm stuck in the middle  
Working towards both ends.

Paradox is reality.  
Chaos is bliss.  
I really hate  
When I have days like this.


	7. Center Stage II

Center stage we build our barricade  
Where once a wardrobe stood  
When the stage became our Narnia  
In a story of evil and good.

With each set the stage transforms  
Into another world,  
And together with the costumes  
Helps the story to unfurl.

With each backstage costume change  
A new onstage persona appears;  
Just one more aid in bringing  
The audience across miles and years.

We have become our characters  
It's their story we tell now;  
And we enjoy every minute  
From the start until we bow.

One by one got the performances  
Each one better than the next  
Until suddenly it's over  
And it's time to take down the set.

Now the theatre is empty;  
And once more the stage is bare.  
Now only memories remain  
Mixing with those that had been there.


	8. Laugh, Love, Live, and Learn

They come by bus and by boat;  
Some new, some who've been before.  
Campers heading for Laketrails  
Now stand at adventure's door.

Arriving on the island  
To shouts and drums and bells.  
Fr Bill helped found the camp;  
Hear the history he tells.

Meeting guides and campers,  
New faces and old.  
Picking out canoe trips,  
See what tomorrow will hold.

Set out on the trail  
Paddling along.  
Duffers entertain those in bow and stern  
By singing them a song.

Nights spent in tents on islands.  
Days spent out in canoes.  
Cook meals over campfires.  
Have fun is what we do.

Reaching our destination  
Doesn't make the trip.  
Half the fun is getting to know  
Those we travel with.

So we return to basecamp  
And soon the week is done.  
We pack our bags, boat to shore,  
And we're on our way home.

The birds sing their chorus at dawn,  
No campers there to hear.  
They've left these islands for a time,  
But they'll be back next year.


	9. Narnian Dreams

Have you ever gone outside  
Into the freshly fallen snow  
As it lays untouched, unmarred,  
By another human soul?

Have you wondered if it felt this way  
To step through the wardrobe door  
Into the land of Narnia?  
I know I have before.

Did Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy  
Feel as I do now  
Transported to that magic place  
Wondering why and how?

I dream this must be it,  
Though I have no way to know.  
Still I hold these dreams to my heart,  
They're the closest I ever need to go.


End file.
